TALK: Prebiotics & Probiotics: what are they and do we really need them?

The first scientific evidence that microorganisms are part of the normal human system emerged in the late 19th century, when Austrian paediatrician Theodor Escherich observed that a type of bacteria (later named Escherichia coli or E-coli) in the intestinal flora of healthy children and children affected by diarrhoea.

Throughout the 20th century a number of other microorganisms were isolated in different human body parts, such as in the nose, mouth, skin, gut, etc. All these microorganisms are now referred as the human microbiota or microbiome.

At the beginning of 2008, the United States National Institute of Health (NIH) launched the Human Microbiome Project (HMP): a 5-year project with the goal of identifying and characterizing the microorganisms found in association with both healthy and diseased humans.

This project has allowed us to understand a lot more about probiotics or ‘the good bacteria’ and prebiotics, although there are still lots of unanswered questions.

Tonight we will concentrate more specifically on:

The difference between prebiotics and probiotics

What happens if we don’t take prebiotics and probiotics

The best foods for prebiotics and the best ones probiotics

And if you don’t/can’t eat them, what are the best brands available on the market